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No an eMacs user myself, but do you ever imagine a time when the software might be considered “done”?
by jon_adler 3y ago
No an eMacs user myself, but do you ever imagine a time when the software might be considered “done”?
- psd1 3y agoNot to jump down your throat, but "eMacs" is hurting my eyes. I blame sTeve jObs.
- nequo 3y agoeMacs is just about the only word that autocorrect refuses to spell correctly, no matter how many times I nudge it to. And they haven't even sold a product called eMac since 2006. It’s a recurring reminder that this phone is owned by Apple, not by me. Frustrating.
- golem14 3y agoTeX and LaTeX are pretty close to 'done'
- knome 3y ago"[a program] is never finished, only abandoned"
- jwr 3y agoNo, I think there is always something you can improve or add. The point, I think, is to do it carefully, though, without breaking things. Python is an example of how not to approach software evolution. Emacs and Clojure are examples of how software can be maintained over the long term without breaking backwards compatibility. When I was young (and, ahem, stupid), I didn't care — I was all gung-ho, shoot from the hip, and if something breaks, tough. As I matured, I learned that backwards compatibility and long-term maintenance should be valued and cherished. Not just because if you're not careful, you have to fix the things that break, but also because as you start doing more and more things in your life, you have less time for each thing and you'd rather move forward rather than spend time fixing things that break.
- jon_adler 3y agoPython is an interesting example to choose as a negative example. I presume you are referring to the evolution from v2 to v3. The popularity of Python has exploded in recent years, possibly as a direct consequence of tough decisions and breaking backward compatibility. I guess it is a subjective topic and an individuals position depends on how they define success.
- 7thaccount 3y agoYeah. I'm always a little confused by this. It's still one of the most popular languages and growing for a reason. It surely isn't perfect, but no technology is. The tradeoffs they made have worked really well for a lot of people.
- cutler 3y agoWhen looking at stats for Python's growth we have to remember 2 things. The number of libraries on PyPi is inflated by the same spam phenomenon which has infected npm, producing ludicrous library upload stats. Second, a large section of the Python userbase is non-programmers using it in a lab context to crunch some data and produce a pretty graph. Might as well be R or Matlab.
- ssivark 3y agoIn a field as young as software, three decades is too long for almost any software tool to remain frozen. Many new ideas might have built up — especially as the world around you (and needs) changes. You might keep writing extensions for your tool, or release periodic updates, or freeze your tool and call it “done”, and write a new tool every few years… they are all different ways to handle the same underlying mechanics.